This new sandwich joint and bar slings some great sandwiches. We ordered for delivery, but it was good enough to mention as a restaurant review here.
We tried a spicy mortadella, a Korean rib sandwich, a meatloaf banh mi, and a chicken Caesar salad sandwich. They have funky names and I forget which ‘wich is which.
The bread is great here, and if I had to choose favorites, I’d go with the banh mi and the mortadella.
CLUBHOUSE SANDOS & SUDS
22 Orchard St
New York, NY 10002
I finally got to try some of the famous pizza in New Haven. My buddy and I took a ride up and tried both Sally’s Apizza and Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana.
First, Pepe’s:
We tried the white clam pie, and their tomato and mozz pie.
Both were pretty good, but we liked the tomato and mozz pie better.
The award winning clam pizza was nice, but I feel like I’ve had better.
Next up was Sally’s:
Here, we tried the tomato and mozz pie, along with the potato and rosemary pie.
We both liked the tomato and mozz pie slightly better, but I have to say, I really enjoyed the potato and rosemary pie. It had a ton of flavor!
Over all, though, the classic was king. And between the two pizza joints, we liked Sally’s better than Pepe’s.
I’m still partial to NYC pizza, but this stuff was pretty good.
FRANK PEPE PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA
157 Wooster St
New Haven, CT 06511
SALLY’S APIZZA
237 Wooster St
New Haven, CT 06511
Allure is the new restaurant inside the Belleclaire Hotel on the upper west side, right on the corner of 77th and Broadway. The dining room has a beautiful skylight atrium overhead, almost like an old timey greenhouse.
My wife and I started with a round of delicious cocktails, my favorite of which was the smoked old fashioned, made with pistachio infused spirits.
Next, we had a trio of apps: prawns, tuna tartare and grilled baby cuttlefish. Of these, the prawns were definitely our favorite. The mole-esque sauce and spice levels were absolutely incredible.
For our mains, we had the rainbow trout with charred kale, olives and artichokes, along with the prime NY strip, which comes from Golden Packing.
Both were excellent, but, as predicted, the steak was the winner for me. The reverse was true for my wife.
The steak was a juicy and perfectly cooked center cut gem, smothered with a peppery au poivre cream sauce that I could drink every day. 9/10.
Served with florentino, a sort of broccolini meets cauliflower green-stalked flowering veggie, this is a steal of a composed meal at just $55. The steak was about 12oz. That’s blue cheese or gorgonzola on top, not butter.
We also did a side of mushrooms to go with this. Delicious.
For dessert, we had the “Nutella Kiss” with pistachio ice cream and merengue, and a creme brulee bread pudding. Both were top notch.
I would 100% go back here again. What a beautiful and delicious restaurant!
ALLURE
2175 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
This 13-course omakase joint is a pretty great deal for just $75. It starts off with a few really awesome pieces like the medium fatty tuna, the shima aji and the tuna with truffle.
Then in the middle you have some really unique stuff like the salmon with tomato, and a real banger with the ebi (shrimp).
And toward the end, you get the otoro fatty tuna with caviar, hand rolls, and the delicious Hokkaido uni on toast. Those were definitely some really great pieces.
I would go back here again, for sure. I just wish they allowed you to bring your own bottle of wine. A corkage fee is totally fine – we just have a lot of wine to get through here! That said, they have a great selection of sake and Japanese imported beer.
THIRTEEN WATER
208 E 7th St.
New York, NY 10009
This little seaport waterfront bar/lounge/restaurant is a great spot for a snack and a drink on the water in nice weather.
We tried the fish and chips, and the fried zucchini chips. Both were good. The fish and chips is not authentic. More like nuggets. But they were good, and so were the fries. Zucchini was nice and crisp too. I would definitely go back!
COBBLE FISH
89 South St Pier 16
New York, NY 10038
Holy Cow has been on my radar to try for a while. Last night, I finally made it in there to try both a burger and a chopped cheese.
Both were mediocre, but the burger was slightly better due to the crisp on the patty, and the overall flavors/special sauce. The buns were strangely dense and hard. The seasoned fries were great though.
Probably won’t be back, but definitely glad I finally tried it.
HOLY COW
34 Canal St
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife and I just walked by this place a few weeks ago and we were wondering if it was any good. Then, a few days ago, some friends of ours organized a lunch here. We were psyched to go.
This place is really known for their “blossom chicken,” which is basically a chicken that has had all the meat removed, chopped up, and mixed with shrimp paste to form a sort of chicken-shrimp sausage. Then it’s stuffed back into the skin and cooked until that skin gets golden crisp. It’s amazing!
We also had a really tender, delicious and savory braised pork belly dish. Make sure you order some rice to soak up those amazing juices.
The stuffed tofu (stuffed with pork sausage, I think) was good, but it was my least favorite of the main dishes. It just didn’t have the powerful punch of flavor like the others.
This stir fried white fish or bait fish dish was really tasty. I think this would benefit from a pop of spice, but the ginger in it was really refreshing.
If you’re looking for a big shared appetizer, get the sliced conch on ice. It’s heavy on the wasabi, but if you’re like me, that’s a good thing!
Last, we had some pea shoots with fried baby shrimp on the side. This was more soupy than I expected, as opposed to stir fried. It was still delicious though.
I will definitely be back here to try more dishes. Our waiter showed us a few more items that they consider specialties as he was bringing them to other tables (egg custard with clams, and lobster fried rice).
HAKKA CUISINE
11 Division St.
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
Cellar 36 is a small wine and tapas bar located in Chinatown owned and operated by the same folks behind The Ten Bells, which I love. Like Ten Bells, Cellar 36 offers a great happy hour deal that includes $20 carafes and $1 oysters. We went for it.
I definitely recommend this spot, and I’ll definitely be back!
Cellar 36
36 Market St
New York, NY 10002
Check out my Ride & Review first HERE:
Kalye is a relatively new-ish (open since November 2022) Filipino food joint on the Lower East Side. My buddy Ivan (@eyebahnrides) wanted to check it out, so we made a video out of the occasion. We swapped bikes and each did a review of the other persons bike, then we finished up at Kalye.
We started with the lumpia and a little dish of macaroni salad. Both were great. They air fry here, so the lumpia weren’t greasy or oily. Great crisp, and this went perfectly with our first round of beer (San Miguel).
Next, we moved on to the sisig and lechon. Both of these pork dishes were incredible.
The lechon had such a great crisp on the skin, and the belly was rendered out and cooked perfectly. Both dishes were paired with a wonderful garlic rice, and we put down our second round of beer; Red Horse.
Last, dessert. Halo halo. Absolutely delicious ube soft serve ice cream atop chipped ice, coconut, sweet mung bean and grass jelly.
This place was excellent. The plan is to go back with our wives for a double date.
KALYE
251 Broome St
New York, NY 10002
First, check out my Ride & Review video HERE:
My wife discovered this newly opened joint in our hood called Kaki. They have a 15-piece omakase that includes sake for just $75. WHAT A STEAL! The pieces are clean, beautiful and delicious. A bit more on the traditional side in terms of presentation.
Here’s a photo dump of all the pieces.
I will definitely be back. We really like this spot!
KAKI
129 Rivington St
New York, NY 10002
